Minutes 04-08-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Chair Jacobs said Commissioner Price did a great job in stating her case, but the other Commissioners have different ideas. He said if this is going to be brought before the whole Board, then it is open to everyone's ideas. He said if this is going to go forward there needs to be consensus on what the group wants to do. He said this was a great start, and there is obviously a galaxy of issues to be discussed around the original focus. He said this can start with the resolution at the next meeting and then include the other items mentioned by Commissioner porosin, which are consistent with items discussed at the retreat. He said these can be synthesized and used to give staff more direction. Commissioner Rich asked if the HRC has a poverty task force. Staff answered no. Commissioner Gordon said she wanted to clarify what she wants to do. She said she wanted to take input at this meeting. She said she does want a commission, but there is no consensus on that, so now she wants to define the issues and move forward in another direction to address this. 2. Decision Items for the Unified Animal Control Ordinance Bob Marotto reviewed the following background information: The Board most recently discussed the proposed unified animal control ordinance at its October 4, 2013 meeting. There was appreciation for the effort of Animal Services staff and the Animal Services Advisory Board (ASAB) and the overall effort to create a more coherent and comprehensible animal control code for Orange County residents. At the same time, the Board asked staff and the ASAB to further consider several particularly challenging issues arising from the ordinance and to return to the Board with recommendations for addressing and ideally resolving these 4 issues. Bob Marotto said the recommendations included in the abstract have been compiled based on substantial consultation with Professor Aimee Wall at the School of Government. He hopes the Board will find merit in what the group has done. He said the unified ordinance is a significant step forward for Orange County and a smarter form of government to allow for meaningful collaboration among different jurisdictions around a single flexible set of rules. He said there is significant confusion over what rules apply where in the County. He said the board is aware that these four issues were not the only issues that were of concern, but these seemed to be the most vexing issues. He said he speaks for staff and the advisory board in saying that this unified ordinance is the result of a significant amount of work. He said these four issues have caused the board to pause and reflect. He hopes these issues can be resolved in order to move the whole ordinance forward. Animal Services Advisory Board Chair Michelle Walker said the board has prepared a summary and a recommendation for of each of the four issues as follows: 1. Trespass: The issue of trespass is how to define trespass since a dog that bites a person who enters the dog owner's property may not be declared a vicious animal under the proposed ordinance if the bitten person is "trespassing". 2. Watchdog: There are additional exceptions to application of a vicious animal declaration for a dog that bites a person on the dog owner's property in the circumstance where a dog is acting in a security capacity. The formulation of one of those exceptions — if the dog is being a "watch dog" — concerns the need to recognize a necessary and lawful role for a dog watching over its owner's property.